Mexico female presidential candidate Vazquez Mota embraces role

Vázquez Mota was born January 20, 1961, in Mexico City. She is a Mexican economist, businesswoman and politician, and member of the National Action Party (PAN). She successfully secured the nomination for the Presidency of the Republic, then ran in the primary, held on February 5, 2012 and won.

Josefina Vazquez Mota, candidate of the ruling PAN, doesn’t hesitate to play the so-called gender card at chosen times. She trails the leader by a wide margin.

By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times

Reporting from Mexico City — “I will be the first woman president of Mexico.” Thus declared Josefina Vazquez Mota on the night this month when she was officially crowned the incumbent party’s candidate in upcoming national elections.

A former congresswoman and education minister, Vazquez Mota, 51, has eagerly embraced her historic position as Mexico’s first female presidential candidate for a major political party. In a contest where she trails the leader by a wide margin, she does not hesitate to play the so-called gender card at chosen moments.

In a meeting with foreign journalists last year, she said she was confident that traditionally machista Mexico was ready for a female leader.

About Ayanna Nahmias

Ayanna Nahmias was interviewed on Radio Netherlands Worldwide program titled 'The State We’re In,' about her life in Africa and her determination to transcend her past. She started the Nahmias Cipher Report to provide information to readers about life in emerging economies, and to provide alternative insight into the challenges faced by women and children living in these countries.
The blog features stories from around the world to inspire other people to persevere and triumph in the face of great adversity. She blogs about current events in emerging economies, international politics, human rights abuses, women’s rights and child advocacy.